Rubio
by sirimiri
Summary: When Lottie, an ordinary girl in almost every respect, finds a badly injured Riolu with shining, golden fur, she knows she must take care of him at until he is fully healed. This decision, and desire to protect this special Pokemon, sends her into a race to prevent a particular group of hunters from catching him. Chapters are a little short, but update frequently.
1. 00: Prologue

_Pit-pat, pit-pat, pit-pat-_  
_Huff, huff, huff..._

The sounds of something running; its feet moving so fast they don't even seem to touch the ground, the sound of rushed breathing from running so long, on the verge of hyperventilation. If it slipped on something, it would jump back onto its toes and continue running at full speed, as if it had never fallen.

Those awful voices couldn't be heard anymore... It had been so long without stopping. Not even once to breathe. Had he perhaps lost them-

A sudden gunshot rang out, eliciting a horrified yelp and another trip out of many. Mentally it whined to itself about the stinging pain from falling again; more dirt rubbing into the possibly already infected wound in its knee. However, it had no time to even think about-

_"I heard it, it's here somewhere! CATCH IT!"_

One of those awful voices rang out soon after its cry in surprise. _They're not far, they're coming, get up-_

Slower than the first time, it leaped to its toes, and continued its high speed run from those voices. Heavy footsteps were again fading away as it ran, ran, ran, as its breathing became heavier... The gunshots rang again in his head. The booming voices-

_"You fuckin' shot the wrong one!"_

_"Did you think if I didn't shoot the mom it wouldn't protect it, fuckass?!"_

That memory played again in his head. It had only happened such a short while ago, but the running made it feel like he had been hours.


	2. 01: Chapter 1

Early May is Lottie's favourite time of the year. Juicy, ripe berries, Cherrim coming out of their buds to take in all the sunlight they can, Kricketot and Kricketune creating xylophonic sounds during the warm nights. This is also about the time the basics classes end at the Trainer's School. (The classes were not obligatory, but she wanted to take them to learn as much as she can before her Pokemon journey, though it wouldn't be for a couple years.) The only things she could possibly dislike about the summer season are the little stings and bites from bug Pokemon and not having a water-type Pokemon to cool her down in the immense heat.

Nervous Butterfree fly out of the bushes as Lottie walks down the small road leading to her home. She lives just outside of the little town and she has to walk this small path to return home. The path also branches off into the nearby forest, where various Pokemon live. She enjoys living near the forest because, despite the obvious bug Pokemon that make their home there, she may also catch a Deerling in the front yard. There's also an abundance of berries and during the summer and late spring, and she often goes down the branching path to pick berries. From school she knows their various uses: Rawst Berries heal a burn, Cheri Berries heal paralysis, etc. The Pecha Berries are her favourite, they're so sweet. But in case they're needed, she also picks at least one of every berry she can find.

Today was one of those warm days with a soft breeze. It felt like heaven. It wasn't sweltering hot at all. She decided to take the fork onto the forest path today. She took off her Munchlax backpack (she loved the cleverness of the design, even if the teacher wouldn't buy the "Munchlax ate my homework!" excuse) and opened the head, taking out her small berry bag. She kept the berry bag in the top, along with other lighter items, and she kept the heavier things like her work book in the body, the actual bag part of the backpack. She opened the little bag with her fingers and delicately picked a Pecha Berry from inside.

She was about to take a nibble from the delectably sweet berry when an unnerved feeling washed over her. It hit her like a small wave, the same way one would become light headed when they lift their head too quickly from bending down. It was so peculiar because she had never felt it before, not once while berry picking in the forest. When she met a Teddiursa she did feel somewhat unnerved, but she had a reason for that. There was no reason for this nervousness... It was very hard to ignore, however. Where was it coming from? She walked in a different direction and she felt it fade; she backtracked and she felt it intensify. It was like noise, but she didn't hear it, she felt it.

Lottie continued forward as the unnerving feeling intensified. She was almost becoming afraid because of how unusual it was. It was almost like she was feeling the fear of someone else, because as noted before, she had nothing to be afraid of... There were actually no Pokemon to be heard of at the moment; not that she could see or that she could hear. But she _felt_-

When she saw something glimmer in the corner of her eye, her heart thumped so hard, she literally thought it would jump out of her throat. She turned in the direction where the saw the glimmer, and she was surprised at what she found.

It looked like a... Pokemon. It wasn't one she had seen before. It was face down in the dirt, but she could see two... what were they? On both sides of its head, two black... _objects_, whatever they were, in the shape of long tear drops. Two little ears, a golden head and half black, half golden body. The lower half of its body looked like puffy pants, and its legs were long and black. It looked like it had grey-blue collar (did this Pokemon belong to somebody?) and, on the back of its hands, two white, oval-shaped spots. It was certainly one she had never seen before, especially with golden, glimmering fur... covered in dirt-

She stopped her staring and immediately kneeled down and tried to lift the Pokemon up from the ground. The Pokemon made a noise of displeasure, obviously hurt. "Hey? Are you awake? Are you okay?" She felt it stiffen. "Are you hurt?" She gently lifted up the Pokemon's chin to get a look at the collar, but it had no such label on it. She gently tugged on it. Was it a part of this Pokemon? How weird! "Hey, I'll get you help, okay?" She attempted trying to pick the Pokemon up but it was somewhat heavier than she thought it to be. She gave an exasperated sigh.

She put her berry bag away and put her backpack back on, and tried pulling the Pokemon up with its arms. She knew she'd have to drag it. When she tried, she heard the Pokemon groan in pain again. Dragging it was completely possible, thankfully, but she was not about to drag it over the road. She had a short mental debate and took her backpack off, lifted the Pokemon's back and strapped the backpack onto the Pokemon instead. That way, she decided, the backpack would be dragged on the ground and the Pokemon would, technically, be riding the backpack as she dragged it.

"You're gonna be okay, okay?" She began dragging the Pokemon and was pleased to find her backpack absorbing the friction. Her backpack would become incredibly dirty, but she was okay with that. "I'm so smart. I'll get you to a Pokemon Center ASAP, don't worry!"


	3. 02: Chapter 2

"This is my room. Remember, you have to be quiet, okay?"

Lottie set her bag down on her bed as the new Pokemon also hopped onto the bed, absorbing its surroundings.

According to Nurse Joy, this Pokemon was actually quite rare. Riolu were not seen often to begin with; her home town is not particularly known for any kind of Riolu sightings. But the thing that intrigued her most was the fact that this Pokemon had a most unusual color. Riolu are normally some what of a dark blue, but this one was a yellow-gold color. It was almost like being gold colored made his rarity even more obvious. Occasionally, she even saw a tiny glimmering in his fur. Nurse Joy also said that there was a very, very, very low chance of ever finding one. It was such a small-yet-large number that she could not recall it.

This actually reminded her of her birthmark. She had a very large birthmark, dark brown and somewhat lumpy on the right side of her face, messily trailing from the upper bridge of her nose to above her eye. She's been told how unusual this is from most, if _not _everyone she had ever met. They would look at her like she had two heads, like a Doduo. But the vast difference between the Riolu's beautiful fur and her unusual birthmark was that the Riolu's fur was actually very appealing to the eye. Her birthmark was not.

Her mother was in the kitchen when she arrived home. When her back was turned long enough, she sneaked right past her, helping the Riolu limp upstairs. Because of everything Nurse Joy had told her, she was going to try and keep the Riolu from prying eyes, and this included her mother. Her mother was very understanding, and actually kind of relaxed, but... she couldn't risk it.

Lottie had been standing there, thinking for a short while. She spun on her toe, and then carefully sat down on the bed as well, as to not startle the Riolu. She gave him a big smile, and asked, "How do you like my room?" and wasn't surprised to be met by silence. The Riolu didn't seem to really be paying attention to her. He was still observing her bedroom. _Analyzing _it.

"Um... Hey, I know. Are you hungry? I have berries in my bag." Lottie reached over and opened the head of her Munchlax bag, taking out the small berry pouch and opening it with her fingers. "Here. Do you want one?" She gently shook the pouch and it caught Riolu's attention. She held out a hand and shook the pouch gently again, and a few berries tumbled into her hand. "Here, take one."

Ever cautious, Riolu sniffed the berries in her hand and looked over them for a few moments. He then decided to take one of the Pecha Berries and nibbled at it. Lottie giggled when she saw Riolu's eyes light up, almost literally, at the lovely sweet taste. "You like Pecha Berries too?" She asked in a playfully surprised tone. She and this Pokemon had similar tastes! "I've got more, when you've finished with that one." She shook out the rest of the berries into her hand and picked out all but one of the Pecha Berries and put the others back into the pouch.

When the Riolu had finished the berry, she held out her hand. Riolu looked at her hand for a moment before accepting the berries, smiling at her thankfully. It seemed this Pokemon was beginning to trust her already. She was already thinking about how they'd get along so well. "Do you want to go berry picking tomorrow?" Riolu's eyes blinked at her. He was expressing some interest, but not quite understanding. "You can come with me and I'll pick a lot more of these berries!"

Riolu made a sound that sounded like a happy little growl and a bark. She also saw his tail begin to swish ever so softly. When this happened, she knew she would become good friends with this Pokemon.


	4. 03: Chapter 3

The very moment after Lottie opened her eyes the next morning, her heart almost jumped out of throat.

She could remember Riolu falling asleep on one of the cushioned chairs in her room, covered with a small blanket. Right after she opened her eyes, she turned to look at the chair he had chosen to sleep on, only to find the lump under the blanket was gone and the blanket was slipping off the chair.

Her window wasn't open, the door was closed, she checked the closet, sifted through all of her clothes, looked under the bed, checked the tub, looked out the window, and double checked every single area she had previously checked twice. When she heard her mother call for her downstairs, she sadly bent down to pick up her backpack... but it was weighed down by something. She could barely pick it up.

Perplexed, she tried picking it up again, summoning all her strength but to no avail. She unzipped her backpack and her heart almost jumped out of her throat again, this time out of joy. Big, ruby-red eyes stared up at her from inside the bag, wearing an expression like a child that had been caught stealing cookies from the cookie jar. She smiled and then giggled.

"Why are you hiding in here?" she asked. She was met with silence, his eyes drifting away from hers, but meeting hers again with nothing else to look at. "Come on, you can't come with me to school today." She reached inside the bag but the Riolu backed away, tumbling the backpack over backwards, making Lottie giggle again. "Come on, please? What are you scared of?" Her mother called for her again, making the Riolu jump a little. "Are you scared of being found by mom?"

Again, she wasn't surprised to be met with silence. Riolu was really quiet. This made her think about the condition in which she found him in the first place. Was he running away from something? Maybe something spooked him, and he's still afraid of something coming to get him. But it didn't matter, because even if she wanted to, she couldn't take Riolu to school with her. He was simply too heavy. Perhaps if he were lighter, and if she could fit her books into the bag with her, then...

"Hey, come out, please. I can't take you to school with me, but I can show you somewhere else. It's really safe, no one can get you there, if that's what you're scared of. No one, not even mom!"

The two scared at each other for an entire minute before tentatively, Riolu began to crawl out, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and standing. He had a limp, but other than that, he was capable of walking. She would just need to help him down the stairs. "See, I'm gonna take you to my hide-out. My tree house. No one will bother you there!"

With this, Lottie helped Riolu limp down the staircase, and before letting Riolu pass she checked to make sure if the coast was clear. Her mother's back was thankfully turned, because she was speaking to someone on the phone. She has been speaking on the phone a lot more lately. She wondered why.

Lottie successfully sneaked Riolu by and lead him to her hide-out of sorts. It indeed was a tree house, not too high up and with a ladder to climb up. "Now you're gonna have to climb up. Don't worry about falling, because I can catch you if you do fall because I'll be behind you!"

It took a little more persuading to convince the Riolu to begin climbing, but when he did, Lottie followed immediately, reassuring him that she was right behind him and ready to break his fall if he missed a step. Thankfully, Riolu reached the top without a problem and entered the tree-house, Lottie right behind him.

"So, this is my hide-out, my tree house. No one except me ever comes up here, not even mom! No one's gonna bother you when I'm gone."

While Riolu looked around the small tree house, Lottie opened her bag and took out her berry pouch. "See, I've got lots of berries in here for you! And if you ever do get hungry again, the berry plants are right near the tree house, so you can take this with you and pick a few." She smiled and handed the berry pouch to him, which he accepted, giving a very tiny smile. "What I usually like to do is watch the bug pokemon and bird Pokemon outside. But sometimes I like to draw and read." A moment after, she realized he probably wouldn't be able to do those things, because of his lack of human hands and not knowing how to read. "... I won't be long at school, I promise! I have chairs and pillows up here if you get bored and want to take a nap." She gave him a bigger smile, trying to be as reassuring as possible. "No one will know you're here, and you'll be completely safe!"

Lottie began to move towards the entrance of the tree house and paused when Riolu whined. "Come on, you'll be okay. I promise. If anything bad happens to you, I'll protect you, but nothing bad will happen. I'll see you later, okay?" She waved a goodbye and began to climb down the ladder. She saw Riolu's head poke out of the entrance and she waved again. "Bye bye, Riolu!"


	5. 04: Chapter 4

Lottie was already having a bad day, and noon hadn't even come. She could barely focus during her classes because she kept thinking about Riolu. What was he doing at this moment? Did he escape? Is he calm, or is he panicking? She had to snap back into reality when her teacher pointed out that she had written "Riolu" instead of "Rawst" on her paper. She was teased a little for not paying attention (the teacher never seemed to notice, even when she could swear their voices were loud enough for the teacher to hear) and finally, when she was about to exit her classroom to go to the bathroom, the door opened right in her face, practically smashing her nose.  
But, all of this was bitter-sweet in Lottie's eyes. Despite the teasing, door smashing her nose, tears and blood dribbling down her face, she could only think about how she was going home early. Riolu would be happy about that. Even though her nose could possibly be broken, she was trying to ignore the pain and was worrying about Riolu's well-being instead. He seemed so jumpy... She remembered how he hid in her backpack out of fear of being left alone, and all of the coaxing it took to get Riolu to climb the ladder up and make sure he didn't try to follow her back down.

The instant she began climbing the ladder up, she heard a chair knock over and the pitter-patter of little feet. "Don't worry, it's just me!" she called up. She didn't worry about her mother hearing her, because she was on the phone. (Now that she thought about it, she had been getting a lot of phone calls lately. Whatever for?) Riolu's head poked out of the entrance and his eyes sparkled a little. But then he gave her an odd look when he got closer.

When Lottie was all the way up, Riolu gently pushed on Lottie's nose. She had a bandage on the bridge of her nose, and it obviously wasn't there before. This was probably what Riolu was curious about. "Ow...! No, don't touch there, please," she said, gently lowering Riolu's paw. She quickly changed the subject and walked over to the chair, and put it back right side up. She didn't bother to ask why he knocked over the chair. "Since I'm home, do you want to go berry picking?" When the Riolu blinked, she picked up the berry pouch that was on the floor of the tree house (it was notably empty) and shook it, saying, "Do you want to get more?" and when Riolu understood, he made a noise similar to a bark as a confirmation.

Lottie went down the ladder first, because she was sure Riolu would be frightened of falling, especially because they were now going down. She continued to assure him that if he did fall, she would catch him and cushion the fall. She was very pleased when he didn't miss a step and stood up with little limp. She thought about something else Nurse Joy had told her: Riolu was a fighting-type. Do they have a higher pain tolerance because of their fighting spirit? "Your leg is already getting better," she said happily. The two stood there for a few moments, waiting for the other to take the first step. Then she offered, "Do you want to come first, and you follow me?" while taking a step forward in the forest's direction; Riolu immediately followed.

Since this was the same forest she had found Riolu injured, she then thought about how he would be afraid of coming back here in the first place. She took this as a sign of trust, which she had gained quickly, to her own surprise. She was very pleased by this. Though she was certain he wouldn't stray, she guided him anyway as they walked ("And I'm going to turn here", "Don't touch that") until she found the Pecha Berry plants.

Lottie gently plucked one and showed it to Riolu. "You see this one? This is the same kind of berry I gave you yesterday." When she handed it to Riolu, he took it without question, eating it immediately and admiring its sweet taste. She giggled, plucky berry after berry and putting them in the pouch. When she felt they had enough, she motioned for Riolu to follow her to the Aspear plants.

As the duo continued to pluck berries, a narrow pair of emerald green eyes watched them. They belonged to a Pokemon, one non-native to the area...

[Author's note: In a review, someone asked me why Riolu was suddenly so friendly towards Lottie. To clear up any confusion amongst you all and not just that one person, Riolu makes these correlations:

Lottie's voice is the one he hears when he's taken to the Pokemon Center; when Lottie talks, that same voice comes out; he heard this voice before being taken here, and if this voice is coming from her, she is the one who took him here; if Lottie is the one who took him here, and he has become healed, then Lottie must have taken him here to be healed, so therefore, Lottie is someone he can trust.  
In contrast with his hunters' voices, her voice is really kind, gentle, kind of like you would expect a young girl's voice to be. The hunter's voices were booming, not at all gentle.  
What's more: if Riolu returns to the wild, the hunters can easily find him. She probably wouldn't make a good defense but it's better than nothing.

**Important: I have actually lost the motivation to continue this. Maybe I'll get it back, but for now, don't count on it. Thank you for taking interest in my story!**]


End file.
